She is clearly sleeping with a man out of wedlock when the episode begins and they are sleeping together in "the Red Quarter" - a sleazy part of town. Thus, when Jesus first encounters Mary, what he offers her isn't forgiveness for her life of prostitution; it's relief from the oppressive demons that drove her to the type of life that she's lived. The Gospels don't tell us very much about what these women do, with the significant exception of the burial and resurrection, but this provides leeway for female characters to play a more significant role throughout the ministry of Jesus and not just when they are mentioned. Have my posts about Bible adaptation helped you learn more about the Bible and explore it with your ministry or family? The Chosen Season 3: What to Expect & How to Watch, The Chosen Season 3 Episode 1 & Episode 2: Reaction and Analysis, The Chosen Season 3 Episodes 1 & 2: Questions to Discuss Before the Premiere, Preparing for The Chosen Season 3: 7 Episodes to Watch, I am the Law of Moses (The Chosen Season 3 Controversy), Little James in The Chosen & Scripture ***Season 3***, Judas in The Chosen ***Season 3 Update***, Matthew in The Chosen ***Season 3 Update***, Simon and Andrew in The Chosen ***Season 3 Update***, Lilith, Demons, & Evil Spirits in The Chosen, Simon the Zealot & Nathanael in The Chosen, Quintus, Gaius, and the Romans in The Chosen. Instead of being a femme fatale that Jesus needs to resist and tame, Mary Magdalene the prostitute is seen as an object of compassion and pity that Jesus needs to provide acceptance and safety. Starting around episode three I think is when it finds its groove. So you have to watch past the first couple episodes to get to the good ones. Mary Magdalene is never called Lili or Lilith in the Bible. Although The Chosen is still a few seasons away from the Resurrection of Jesus, it is clearly beginning with the end in mind. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. As a general rule, the characters who follow Jesus aren't bad people; they're misunderstood and rejected and in need of love. I think the producer said he wanted to do eight seasons total. See a Roman centurion fill Lilith/Mary s sight, a suggestion that the woman have. Although, like Nicodemus, the account of Jesus' life in the Gospels tells us relatively little about her, the part that she plays as the first witness to the Resurrection is objectively much more significant. Be that as it may, the Gospel of Luke tells us that there were women who went Jesus and names Mary Magdalene among them (Luke 8:1-3). The Chosen introduces a lot of characters and expects us to just keep up. The assumption at that time was that women became prostitutes because they were inherently immoral and desirous. Season 2 Reflection P2: What was The Chosen Season 2 about? In The Chosen, when we first Mary Magdalene in Season 1 Episode 1, she has already been possessed by an evil spirit, Lilith, for some time. Why do you think they were removed? Just long enough to make this point: Adaptations often add, change, and leave out details, because what works in a book isn't always the same as what works in television or film. In The Chosen, Mary Magdalene is played by Elizabeth Tabish. (he calls her by her name), How does this connect to what happened in episode 1? Later Jewish tradition described a demonic figure known as Lilith in a variety of ways. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. I think Mary went by Lilith when she came to Magdala, not scripturally speaking, but for the story line. In the modern vernacular, a "red light district" is a term that refers to an area of the city known for prostitution, strip clubs, and other immoral establishments. When Nicodemus encounters her, we discover that the evil spirit that is possessing her is named Lilith. Describe a pencil. This is symbolically tied to her encounter with another demon, Belial, who calls Mary Lilith, asserting the continued existence and power of her old identity. According to the Gospel accounts, Jesus cleansed her of seven demons, and she financially aided him in Galilee. Why do you think The Chosen depicted Mary as a prostitute? Since I criticized Season 1 of The Chosen for making Mary too perfect, it's only fair that I acknowledge how Season 2 seeks to rectify that issue. Episode 8 Guide: The Woman at the Well, Eden, & Zohara, Christmas with The Chosen: The Messengers, The Chosen Season 2 Controversy (Jesus, the Bible, & the Process of Inspiration), Should Nicodemus Kneel? The difference between its depiction of her life as a prostitute, with super-sexualized clothing and a zebra chariot, and The Chosen's depiction of her life is emblematic of changing views of prostitutes between the 1920's and today. You can also purchase the DVDs of season 1 on Amazon if you're worried about trying to stream & do Zoom at the same time. Season 2 Reflection P1: What is The Chosen Season 2 about? If you liked this post, you might want to check out some of my other posts on The Chosen and Bible adaptation. Your contributions mean so much. Luke notes that Mary had seven spirits exorcised from her, but the other women experienced miraculous healing as well. The first passage is regarding Mary Magdalene (Lilith): In case you didn't catch it, at the end of The Chosen episode 1 we discover that the character called Lilith for most of the episode is actually named Mary Magdalene. He attempts to heal her and exorcise the evil spirit in her, but he is unsuccessful and concludes that she is beyond hope. Episode 7 Guide: Did Nicodemus Follow Jesus? Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. It's a great comfort in the midst of the pandemic and other turmoil. And the parallels don't end there. Having offered some criticism, I will say that the scene of Jesus forgiving Mary was moving. I would have introduced her PTSD much earlier in the season, giving her more space to try to struggle with it on her own before eventually falling back into her old life. You can find episode one free on YouTube here, although there are lots of ads. However, some scholars believe the word would be better translated as demoness and see it is a reference to a Mesopotamian spiritual being. In The Chosen, we see a brief flashback during Season 1, Episode 1 that strongly implies that Mary was raped by a Roman soldier. Dallas mentioned how some viewers didn't like that Mary fell back into old ways, which seems ridiculous, but just goes to show how out of touch some people are with both real life and how stories work. I offer my work for free and rely on the generous support of readers like you. In The Chosen, when we first meet Mary Magdalene, most of the characters refer to her as Lili. But why does Mary Magdalene get all the attention and not Joanna or Susanna, who are also mentioned? To the credit of the production team, you cant discern a denominational slant from the script. To recap: in Episode 5 of Season 2, Mary begins to experience PTSD tied to the trauma of her rape by a Roman solider (implied very quickly in Episode 1 Season 1). Meanwhile, in the youth ministry that I lead, I had the chance to view and discuss season one of The Chosen with several high schoolers and found it very fruitful. Catholic Christianity offers the world the fullness of the Christian Faith. Im not a person who cries during Jesus movies, but Ive cried several times during this series, because you can just feel the humanity of the scenes and everything is ten times more relatable. Thank you! In The Chosen, when we first Mary Magdalene in Season 1 Episode 1, she has already been possessed by evil spirits for some time. Although we'll have to wait in order to understand fully what the show wants us to conclude, this could be a subtle and effective way to show how Jesus' ability to heal and save is ultimately grounded in his willingness to die and rise again. Unfortunately, because Mary's change happens so quickly, her character goes from being pretty dynamic in episodes 1-2 to being a pretty flat in the remainder of the season. Consider how the show depicts Jesus' first appearance. Lilith was close to committing suicide by walking off a cliff before a dove (Holy Spirit) caught her interest and she followed it back to town, where she had an emotional moment being healed by Jesus who quoted her trusted childhood Bible verse from Isaiah and exorcised her with a hug. The creators make changes in order to adapt the biblical stories to TV. Yes, there are plenty of women who show up in the Gospels. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. As I noted above, in the Bible there is no indication that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. Your contributions mean so much. And to be fair, there isnt a whole lot of backstory for any of the disciples in the Bible, so its not a surprise the writers filled in the blanks with some artistic license. For the most part, I just clarified who characters were (see my comment above) and occasionally I briefly explained a reference or allusion that was confusing to my youth. And just like one day the risen Jesus will reveal himself to Mary and free her from grief and fear by calling her name, Jesus first reveals himself to "Lilith" and frees her from her grief and fear and demons by calling her by her true name, Mary. I can appreciate what theyre trying to do with the show: Theyre taking their time to build your relationship with the characters and to delve into some of the backstory so that everyone becomes a three-dimensional person, not just a mumbling zombie foil for Jesus. (ex. Why do you think The Chosen is trying to connect episode 1 to what will happen when Jesus is resurrected? While watching the show, I made occasional comments through the chat but I tried to not do too much teaching - I wanted the youth to enjoy The Chosen and not just see it as an elaborate preaching illustration. If you liked this post, you might want to check out some of my other posts on The Chosen and Bible adaptation. In the Bible, there is no indication that Nicodemus met Mary Magdalene or that he tried to heal her or exorcise her evil spirits. She was a witness of Jesus' crucifixion and burial (Mark 15:40-47) and also the first person to discover the empty tomb, witness the resurrected Jesus, and share the good news with the disciples (John 20:1-18). Matthew, Mark, and John also describe Mary as a witness of Jesus' crucifixion/burial (Matthew 27:55-61, Mark 15:40-47, and John 19:25). Many characters and stories are based on events in the Gospels, but there are also characters and events that the creators made up to tie things together. Because The Chosen seeks to be kid-friendly, it most likely uses the term "Red Quarter" in order to hint to older viewers that Mary is a prostitute without explicitly mentioning prostitution or sex. FYI: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. These parallels are more than a neat bit of foreshadowing. Mary Magdalene is never called Lili or Lilith in the Bible. There's a sense in which Mary's demons might be seen as a metaphor for the oppressive forces that brought her into her life in the sex trade but this is only barely suggested. In the Bible, there is no indication that Mary Magdalene fell back into sin, backslid, or left Jesus. It's certainly not, Due to COVID restrictions, my youth group watched The Chosen online using Zoom. In the same way, we get our first glimpse of the pre-resurrected Jesus as we follow her struggles in the first episode. Literally none of that is in Scripture or sacred tradition and that bothers me! 1 ) Kathleen McGowan Kindle Edition are three Christian Goddesses, making up a female.! I have not seen any anti Catholic scenes. Mary Magdalene was a disciple of Jesus. Jesus heals her evil spirit(s) at the end of Episode 1. Dallas Jenkins (Director) is not Catholic, but - in my mind - makes the best Christian films I have seen anywhere. [Update: In the comments below, an astute reader pointed me to a post by the official Twitter for The Chosen, which claims Mary is not being portrayed as a prostitute. You can really connect with the characters, and it really helps you better immerse yourself with the Gospel. The Chosen invents this story to illustrate biblical teachings about Jesus' grace and forgiveness. I admire your comment. Everything is very true to the Gospels, and theres no dialogue written to score theological points. We turned it into a bit of a game, where one of my youth would constantly ask "Is that Jesus?" The Bible includes Mary Magdalene in a list of women who had evil spirits healed by Jesus. Have my posts about Bible adaptation helped you learn more about the Bible and explore it with your ministry or family? Because The Chosen seeks to be kid-friendly, it may use the term "Red Quarter" in order to hint to older viewers that Mary is either a prostitute or a sexually immoral woman without explicitly mentioning prostitution or sex. There you go! The important role that Mary Magdalene plays in The Chosen is not nearly as surprising as that of Nicodemus. In Episode 8, we see that Mary is still struggling a bit - her failure is driving her to be a bit too unrelenting in her work for Jesus- but other than that she seems to be back on track. Initially Mary doesn't recognize Jesus. After Jesus heals her evil spirit, she resumes calling herself "Mary," her birth name, and refuses to answer to the name associated with her spiritual oppression. Many Christians still memorize this passage to remind them of how God is always with us, even in the most difficult trials. Personally, I would have been much more interested in a subplot about Mary's former pimp trying to coerce her back into her former life than I am with the overly long fish taxation plot. EDIT: I still have my concerns, but I believe my rash judgment is sinful, so I'll keep it to myself. PROUDLY CREATED WITH WIX.COM, Mary Magdalene in The Chosen (Adapting Biblical Characters), Mary and Nicodemus in Season 1 of The Chosen, The important role that Mary Magdalene plays in The Chosen is not nearly as surprising as that of, Be that as it may, the Gospel of Luke tells us that there were women who went Jesus and names Mary Magdalene among them (, But why does Mary Magdalene get all the attention and not Joanna or Susanna, who are also mentioned? In the story, Mary Magdalene (called Lilith) was raped by a Roman centurian which led to demonic possession and social isolation. This story was invented by The Chosen for the purposes of the plot. The creators of The Chosen probably chose this name because it is associated with demons in Jewish traditions. And we also just had fun chatting about random stuff, like how Quintus was totally fitting the stereotype of the evil bald guy. Lilith was close to committing suicide by walking off a cliff before a dove (Holy Spirit) caught her interest and she followed it back to town, where she had an emotional moment being healed by Jesus who quoted her trusted childhood Bible verse from Isaiah and exorcised her with a hug. I take comments made by The Chosen Twitter account with a grain of salt, especially since they are most likely made by digital marketers and not the actual creators of The Chosen. Mary Magdalene is never called Lili or Lilith in the Bible. The trauma of her rape is hinted at again in Season 2, Episode 5, and is the trigger that causes Mary to backslide. In the modern vernacular, a "red light district" is a term that refers to an area of the city known for prostitution, strip clubs, and other immoral establishments. Interestingly, The King of Kings (1927) also uses Mary Magdalene to introduce us to Jesus for the first time. For more details, check out my post focused specifically on Lilith, Demons, and Evil Spirits. More importantly, allowing some of the disciples to judge Mary a bit more would have added more tension and could have fueled future arcs. Over time, the Western artistic tradition repeatedly depicted Mary as a prostitute and the mistaken association got stuck in the cultural consciousness. While she shows up from time to time and engages in conversations with the other disciples, she no longer has her own personal plot. Watch past the first episode your ministry or family and start taking part in conversations good ones Elizabeth... And desirous show up in the Bible and explore it with your ministry or family invented by the Chosen this... To follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations s,! Mesopotamian spiritual being a female., where one of my youth group the... Her, but - in my mind - makes the best Christian films I seen. 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